All universities, colleges should get fresh coat of paint: Partha

Kolkata: State Education minister Partha Chatterjee said on Monday that all universities, colleges and schools should get a fresh coat of paint within three months. Chatterjee also directed the vice-chancellors and principals to take up cleanliness at the same time.

Chatterjee attended a high level meeting convened by the Higher Education department at Calcutta University on Monday. "A notification regarding painting of all universities, colleges and schools will be brought out soon," he said. The Education minister, however, did not mention whether there will be uniformity in the colours that will be used in the institutions. The minister also expressed his discontent about the lack of cleanliness in a number of institutions' campuses and directed the authorities to take up cleanliness in an urgent basis.

"We are providing quality teachers, infrastructure in the colleges across the districts. But why students from Jhargram or any other place in the district come to Kolkata for studying? You should keep the campus and other basic things neat and clean," he said adding that the colleges are being provided with ample funds in recent times to take up such cleanliness activities.

The minister also made it clear that the governing body of an institution should abstain from recruiting a person temporarily without the consent of the Education department. "The governing body should take the nod of the department for such recruitment," the minister said.

The minister was vocal against some colleges that have admitted students more than its intake capacity. "We have sufficient number of colleges both government and private across the state. However, some colleges still go on admitting more and more students. If students are admitted above the number of seats, then the colleges that indulge in such irregularity will be held responsible and registration of the college will be cancelled," he warned.